Houdini & Doyle – The Monsters of Nethermoor

Arthur Conan Doyle (Stephen Mangan), Harry Houdini (Michael Weston), and Constable Adelaide Stratton (Rebecca Liddiard) travel into the country to investigate a murder suspect who claims his missing wife was abducted by aliens. While the town’s prejudice to the man forces Harry to champion his cause, Arthur has serious doubts allowing the skeptic and believer to swap places for this particular episode. Eventually there proves to be a rational, although still bizarre, explanation for the woman’s disappearance.

Set outside of London, the episode gives the trio time together where Harry can muse over Adelaide’s secrets concerning her her husband’s death and pick a fight in the local bar to stand-up to the prejudiced locals. There’s a fair amount of character-driven story here that works well, even if the “aliens” tale has a couple of glaring plot holes (such as why accost Doyle thus proving their existence?).